Sunday's Message (His Presence - “I am with you.”)

Even though life can seem threatening and overwhelming, Isaiah 40:10 reminds us that we don’t need to be afraid: Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Don’t tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with my arm and give you victories. During five worship services, we’ll consider how God can calm our fears and anxieties. We’ll consider the following:

• October 4 - His Presence (“I am with you.”)
• October 11 - His Relationship (“I am your God.”)
• October 18 - His Support (“I will make you strong.”)
• October 25 - His Care (“I will protect you.”)
• November 1 - His Power (“I will...give you victory.”)

On Sunday, October 4, we discussed how God calms our fears and anxieties through his presence. Below is the text and a video presentation of the sermon. 

You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Well, we’ve entered a new month, and as Jordan will remind you if you ask him, we now have eighty-seven days before Christmas. Of course, I recognize that may be jumping the gun a little bit, something I’d never have done as a kid, because without question, October was my favorite month in the entire year. You see, I’ve always loved the fall colors and cool temperatures. And how can you beat football in full swing and baseball coming to its climax. But I’ve got to tell you, my number one reason for loving October is that I really enjoy the time leading up to Halloween. Now, to be honest, I wasn’t a big trick-or-treater because I’ve never been a fan of candy. But you know, I am a fan of old monster movies, and I’m talking about the ones they show on Svengoolie every Saturday night. Man, I grew up with Dracula and the Wolf Man and the Frankenstein monster. And even though they seem tame now, as a kid, I thought they were pretty scary. And don’t get me started on the Blob or the Creature or the Thing from Another World. You see, October was the perfect month to be afraid.

And I’ll tell you, that’s why we’re going to be looking at fear for the next five weeks. Of course, the kind of fear we’ll be talking about has nothing to do with anything made in a lab or coming out of a coffin or waiting for the next full month. Instead, we’ll be talking about the kind of thing we experience before we see the results of the biopsy or after we recognize our pension won’t cover our expenses or when we look at the state of our society and wonder what kind of world we’re leaving our children and grandchildren. Now that’s the kind of fear I’m talking about. 

But of course, we’re not going to stop with just the feeling; we’re going to consider how God can actually help us face these fears. And as a guide, we’ll be using a verse from Isaiah. You see, the prophet wrote,

Don’t be afraid. I am with you.
Don’t tremble with fear.
    I am your God.
I will make you strong,
as I protect you with my arm
    and give you victories. [Isaiah 41:10, CEV]

You see, during this series, we’re going to look at phrases that follow, “Don’t be afraid” [Isaiah 41:10a, CEV] and consider how they might help us deal with things we all face that tend to tighten our chests and stir our stomachs, starting with the words, “I am with you.” [Isaiah 41:10a, CEV] You see, for the next ten minutes or so, we’re going to talk about two things: first, how God’s presence can help us face our fears and then second, how we can grow in our awareness of this presence. Now that’s the plan.

Of course, this idea that God’s presence with us can help us face our fears, well that has deep roots in the Bible. For example, when you think about it, probably the best known passage in scripture is all about how God is with us, and I’m talking about the twenty-third Psalm. And I’ll tell you, since this was something a lot of us learned way back in Sunday School, when it comes up on the screen, I’d like you to say the words with me.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. [Psalm 23, KJV]

Now I don’t know about y’all, but just saying it out loud brought back all kinds of memories. But of course, God’s presence wasn’t just an Old Testament idea. Just listen to what Jesus said to his disciples right before his arrest, crucifixion and resurrection:

I won’t leave you like orphans. I will come back to you. In a little while the people of this world won’t be able to see me, but you will see me. And because I live, you will live. Then you will know I am one with the Father. You will know you are one with me, and I am one with you. If you love me, you will do what I have said, and my Father will love you. I will also love you and show you what I am like. [John 14:18-21, CEV]

Now that’s what he said, and that seems about right. I mean, before he was even born, Jesus was called Emmanuel, God with us. Right here and now, God really is present with us. 

And you know, just think about what that presence does, and I’m talking about what it does for us. I mean, first, I think it removes that feeling of loneliness we often experience. In other words, regardless of the problems we face or the pain we endure, we are not alone. God is with us. As the Psalmist wrote, “Where could I go to escape from your Spirit or from your sight? If I were to climb up to the highest heavens, you would be there. If I were to dig down to the world of the dead you would also be there. Suppose I had wings like the dawning day and flew across the ocean. Even then your powerful arm would guide and protect me.” [Psalm 139:7-10, CEV]. Because God is present with us, we are never alone. That’s one. 

And second, this presence also forces us to shift our focus. I mean, once I’m fixed on who God is and what he’s doing, I’m no longer obsessing about all my trials and troubles. But maybe even better than that, my mind doesn’t drift to those wonderful “worst-case scenarios.” In fact, I might be able to follow Jesus’s advice: Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today. [Matthew 6:34, CEV] I’m telling you, all those “ifs” and “buts” lose a lot of their power when our attention shifts to the one who is absolutely perfect in his freedom and love. And that’s two.

But that’s not all, because third, I believe God’s presence enhances our strength. You see, God’s closeness to us isn’t passive. Instead, it bucks us up when our courage fails. And it reminds us that we have a stronghold and a helper when we feel weak and confused. As a matter of fact, with God, we have a secure fortress and a safe place to land when anxiety or panic tries to overwhelm us. It’s like what Paul said to the Romans: “If God is on our side, can anyone be against us?” [Romans 8:31b, CEV] Along with removing our loneliness and shifting our focus, God provides strength. And in that way, God’s presence really does help us face our fears.

And for that reason, I think it’s important for us to remember that we can grow in our awareness of this reality. And I’ll tell you, I think we have an excellent reason to believe that it’s possible. I mean, just listen to what Jeremiah told the people of Israel. Right after telling them that they were about to be conquered, he said this:

After Babylonia has been the strongest nation for 70 years, I will be kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised. I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you and accept your worship. Then I will gather you from all the nations where I scattered you, and you will return to Jerusalem. [Jeremiah 29:10-13, CEV]

And from the New Testament, according to James,

Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you people who can’t make up your mind. Be sad and sorry and weep. Stop laughing and start crying. Be gloomy instead of glad. Be humble in the Lord’s presence, and he will honor you. [James 4:7-10, CEV]

You see, although God is always, and I mean always close, we have it in our power to feel his presence up in a very personal way. And I think that’s going to happen when we make the decision to do three things. You see, first, we can pray. I mean, we can talk openly with God, sharing with him our fears and frustrations right along with our hopes and dreams and transferring to him all those heavy burdens we carry around. And since we’re treating God as a real, listening companion, we don’t have to worry about whether or not our prayers sound right or good. As a matter of fact, I think we should probably remember that, according to Paul, “In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people.” [Romans 8:26-27, CEV] First, we can pray.

And second, we can read, and I’m talking about reading the Bible. You know, I think it’s kind of sad. It seems as though some very sincere and dedicated people spend a whole lot of time and a whole lot of effort and a whole lot of energy trying to hear the voice of God when the Word of God is right there on a shelf under the coffee table. If we want to hear what God has to say, instead of spending a lot of time in meditation, maybe it makes more sense to take the Bible, to dust it off, to open it up, and to read it. And although this is good to do all by ourselves, it may be even better with a group. Either way, we’re going to feel closer to God when we decide to listen to his word. I mean, remember, when explaining why he wrote his gospel, the Evangelist John said, “Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.” [John 20:30-31, CEV] If we want to be close to God, second, we can read his world.

And third, we can worship. Man, we can sing and praise God as a way that moves our focus away from our fears, away from our troubles, away from our disappointments right onto God’s power. And together we can pray as a body and we can listen to God’s word read and proclaimed so that we can better understand his will and better experience his care. And I’ll tell you something, when we have the chance, we can do what we’re going to do on this World Communion Sunday. We can gather around the Lord’s table. And we can share the bread and drink from the cup. And together, as God’s people, we can celebrate Jesus’s spiritual presence until he physically comes again. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “The Lord meant that when you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you tell about his death until he comes.” [1 Corinthians 11:26, CEV] You see, along with praying and reading, we can worship together, and in my opinion, that’s how we can grow in our awareness of God’s presence.

Now, in future weeks, as we pass through the spooky month of October, we’re going to talk about other ways God can help us with those things that tighten our chest and stir our stomachs. But you know, when you get right down to it, it all starts with God’s presence. You see, God’s presence with us can help us face our fears by removing our loneliness and by shifting our focus and by enhancing our strength. And we can grow in our awareness of God’s presence by praying and by reading and by worshiping. And I’ll tell you, if we’re serious about claiming this closeness as something that can help us face our fears, gathering around the Lord’s Table and celebrating the host of this meal, man, that’s an excellent place to start.